Speaking January 4th at Niagara Alliance Church!

I almost forgot to mention that I'll be speaking at Niagara Alliance Church January 4th. I had thought about a message this summer that I wanted to give... The God Question. I'm changing the title to: The Christ Question and running with it. I know that some of our friends will be there, and some of Amy's co-workers have been invited to come too. I believe God is going to use this message in a very wonderful way. If you are in the neighborhood come visit!

Peace!

Lonnie

Happy New Year and stuff...

I can believe it has been almost a month since I posted anything! After starting at Niagara Alliance Church (see it on the web: niagaraalliance.com ) it's been nothing but full speed ahead! I'm beginning to settle in and really felt for the first time last Sunday that my feet were beginning to get under me! Last Sunday, Dec. 28th I was closing the service, since our pastor is on vacation, and was tying in the message about having an extravagant love for Christ. As I was closing the service I was talking about us climbing into our Fathers lap and letting Him hold us. Just at that moment my son Joel (3 yrs) ran up the isle and up onto the platform. He says loudly, "Daddy I need you!" I picked him up and held him. A collective "Ahh" came across the congregation. Tears were filling my eyes as I considered what a perfect illustration God had supplied for me and all there were there.
I'm reading "The Shack" and found it to be a breath of fresh air for my soul. Joel's sudden appearance at church and me picking him up was just a continuation of what I have been getting as I've read this book. I realize that difficult time and things happen to us, but the love of our Papa never fades... He's always there.

Sassy but funny...

I asked Caleb to scrape his supper into the garbage bag. Before he thought to open it he started scraping. I asked him to "hold on a second! You have to open the bag first!" Caleb replies, "Do I look like I have three hands?!'

I have no idea where he heard that! But I was laughing.

Thanksgiving Workout

Happy Thanksgiving to my friends and family!

It seemed funny tonight that we would gather and eat like pigs and then workout, but I admit, I saw it coming. My beautiful wife, Amy, is doing a "Biggest Loser" thing at work. And being the driven person that she is, I was guessing that she would come from work, eat the Thanksgiving meal and then get on the recumbent bike. Any doubts that this day of feasting and thanks giving would include 30 minutes to burn a couple calories were erased while I was eating my second plate of food. "I'm going to get on the bike after this." I heard. Crazy thing... After watching my bride pull off 30 minutes (and would have done more... if not for the need to do a flute lesson with our niece and then leave...), I sat at the seat to "give it a try". My try went 10 minutes. That's pretty good considering that I could only pull 6 + minutes on our elliptical machine. However I still managed to burn a good 100 calories myself. And when I thought I would pass out from the exertion, I was at least seated for a crash landing, should that occur... unlike our elliptical where I would have done a header into the boys toy box or face plant into the computer monitor. So I have reason to be thankful that we were able to "have our pie and eat it too" to change the quote. And hopefully from this tidbit a chuckle of laughter might be heard bounding from your throat. Possible a wry smile.

Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good night...

The New Assistant Pastor of Worship!

It's official today! They announced at Niagara Alliance Church that I was coming and will start December 1st to be ready for our first Sunday December 7th!

In fact at the website: niagaraalliance.com in the staff section Pastor Mark has already included me. :~D

Thank you for your prayers as we have been discerning God's plan for our lives and the direction He wants us to go. Please pray for out church as we begin the necessary task of transforming our worship experience (especially the music) to help us target a new generation for Christ, with out alienating the present generations!

Faith Factor

As I was reading my devotions this past week the topic of faith came up. Pastor David Jeremiah (Turning Point Ministries and Shadow Mountain Community Church El Cajon, CA) pointed out how Jesus didn't do many miracles in one location. Why? Because of their faith. They just didn't believe Jesus was who He claimed to be or was able to do what He said he could do. What about today? Is it possible that we do not receive because we, as "People of faith", don't have faith?!

This hit pretty close to home. I've been trusting God to open doors, or so I've tried to convince myself. I'd been a bit anxious that this might not happen. But why? The whole Candidating process has gone well. The feedback I got was very possitive. My interaction with the Pastor has been great. But thinking that it was about 99% done had me thinking about the 1%. The 1% chance that the church will not have the funds or the Elder Board will embrace the thought they don't need to change. That's when I was challenged to believe that God covers the 1%. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills and is more than able to provide. God moves the hearts of leadership. God is soverign. God is able... to do more than I could ask or imagine.

That is the faith factor. He can when I can't!

Seeing God's Favor

I've prayed a prayer for some time that includes "Father, give me wisdom, understanding, discernment and favor with You and the right other people." It may seem like a funny thing to pray for favor with 'the right other people', but on Monday it was no coincidence that I got the right help.
It started for me when I couldn't get the cap off my tire stem to see if I could add some air into the tire. I pulled into Mr. Tire on Military Rd. in Niagara Falls, NY. They were busy enough but took the time to see if they could take a look at the tire for me. After pulling the tire off they noticed what looked like a drill bit (yea, I couldn't believe it!) in the sidewall of the tire. That renders the tire unrepairable. So after I explained that I would be able to replace my tire at another place they willingly took my spare tire from under the back of my KIA and placed it on the front and put the other tire in the back of the vehicle to get fixed. Now this doesn't seem astounding other than the fact that I didn't owe them anything for it. It was free. I have to say I am thankful for God's constant favor.

Now you can see why we're worn out!

We've had so much going on recently it was nice to just catch a few winks. Funny thing was that as Amy was taking pictures I knew it and just laid there. :!) Another side note... after I saw the picture I was reminded of one in which I was half of Joel's size and was sound asleep on my dad's chest! Dad's are a safe haven for their kids, just ask Joel. Thank God for Dads!

You probably noticed that this is my fifth post for the same day. We really have been that busy! Glad to have the opportunity to put something up to show how the boys are growing and what we've been up to as of late.
Enjoy family and friends!

Look daddy... Joel with pineaple slices

So while we were eating recently Joel picks up the pineapple slices and make them look like glasses, then he takes one and puts it over his head... "Daddy don't I look like an angel?!" We laughed... God certainly has a sense of humor so send us this extremely active boy!

Enjoy!

Update on me.

I can officially say that I'm Candidating at Niagara Alliance Church on Nov. 15th and 16th. It's all a new thing for me because in the Free Methodist Church there was an interview and you either got it or didn't! This is much more like dating, then being engaged (Candidating) before saying, "I do."

I know that I'll be leading the music that Sunday and will be singing a solo and should find out more information soon. The 15th will be a 'meet-n-greet' with the congregation. Should be a good time! Thanks everyone for your prayers and support.
God bless you one and all!

Lonnie

Spiderman

A few weeks ago we traveled to Letchworth State Park for a craft show. We never found the things Amy wanted, but Caleb got his face painted... Joel chickened out. So here's Spiderman!!!!
You might wonder what clown did this to my son. I honestly can't remember her name. :~)

Halloween Prize Kids!

Grammy (Amy's mom) makes the costumes and then gets the satisfaction of saying, "Yea, I'm that good." This year Caleb, the Rhinestone Cowboy, got a 1st at his school and at the Ransomville Firehall. Joel, the skunk with flowers, got a 2nd at the Firehall. We have enough candy now that I should be in a sugar comma any day now...

Enjoy the pictures!

Verbal Spontaneous Prayer

Caleb tonight started to follow my pattern of prayer.... which is that I just pray and thank God for things and ask for help along the way. Basically it's a verbal spontaneous prayer. I'm having an ongoing conversation where I include God. SO... tonight I'm sitting at the computer and I hear Caleb talking, "God help me to get through Mario level 8 please..." I asked him if he was praying and he said, "Yea Dad. I need God to help me win this." I responded that I wasn't sure if God was into answering prayers exactly like that, but I was pleased that he was praying. I trust the depth of Calebs prayers will grow as he places his faith in Jesus and walks humbly with Jesus through this life. I also realize that God even cares about the little things that we care about. Like trying to get through Mario level 8 or being the example that little people can follow. I know I'm being watched.

just struck me funny...

So with Caleb in school all day now I have Joel all to myself on Tuesdays. Today we stopped in Tops to pick up some supper and as we were walking Joel says, "Dad, are you thinking what I'm thinking?!" I said, "Probably not. What are you thinking?!" His eyes had zeroed in on some cupcakes and that was what he was thinking. That certainly wasn't what I was thinking... the donuts were trying to get my attention at that moment. Thankfully we were able to escape the temptation before it became too much.

Seriously... how many 2 year olds say, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?!"

Cast your vote here...

Misc. Stuff

As the saying goes much water has passed under the bridge... and in some locations that water has taken out a bride or two... just not where I live. But I digress...

I'm thankful for the opportunities that I've gotten to lead worship at my church through Sept. 7th. I know our Worship Leader was needing a bit of a break and it worked out well.

So we've been busy this summer with all of these wonderful opportunities and I have gratefully offered them up to the Lord as an offering. I believe God has been honored and is pleased to receive the worship due his Name.

This past week Caleb started Kindergarten. We did the usual photos and video of him getting on the bus. What we didn't anticipate was the response of Joel, our almost 3 year old. Joel was ready to run after the bus to either get Caleb back or go with him! There were tears as I held him and then he went back in the house with Amy (mommy). I drove to the school to drop off Caleb's supplies and meet him at the bus as he got off. He was so surprised but very pleased to see me. We got to his room and got him all settled in. I left to take the camera back to Amy to show the pictures and video that I'd taken before heading to work.
So far things have gone well. We're only 4 days in, but it's been a good ride so far. (knock on wood...)

We are anticipating taking care of some home projects that have become an issue as of this past week. Thankfully my dad will be flying in to help with them the first part of October. I always learn more every time I work with him. I look forward to that time even though it will be a bit busy.

Lastly I trust that God will open a door of opportunity for me soon. I have been completely overwhelmed by the responses I've gotten about the speaking and music. In fact, Linda from my church said to me, "I've come to the conclusion that you need your own church to pastor!" All I know is that all things are in God's timing. My prayer is reflected in the lyrics by Charlie Hall "let your sovereign providential hand lead me."

Worship on the Water and such...

Last Sunday (August 10th) was my last time to speak at the Worship on the Water event. Being able to have three opportunities to speak and lead worship was tremendous! In reflecting on the times I've spoken this Summer and in the past 4 years I can say that these have been good and growth filled. It's humbling when you finish the service and hear people applaud. It's humbling because I know that the gifts are all from God. Anything good that happens is from God and the glory belongs to Him. That said, humanly speaking, it reaffirms the Calling of God on my life and the purposes that I said, "YES" to years ago. And the feedback that I've gotten has been encouraging. One comment this past week centered on how I've really improved in my delivery from the first time I spoke 4 summers ago until that day. The question I have to answer is, "Am I growing or staying stagnant?!" It's easy to just pull out an old message and polish it up, and I did that Sunday, but I also started a second message before that which I intend to finish! Given the opportunity to speak. I will do so. It's entitled , "The God Question".
It's a question that we all have to answer at some point, and one that deepens with every "yes".

Getting back to the original thought... as much as the people who came to hear me were blessed I would say that I've been just as blessed and encouraged. It affirms that God uses His people from his "catholic... universal" church. My church family has been so supportive also, but having people that are not directly related saying the same thing has to be a God thing. I've had people tell me that I need a church or that I should start a new work. We'll see what God has planned. As He opens the doors I'm going through!

Peace to you...

"Where is Jesus?"

Today I was having a small skirmish with my 5 year old about not bringing a toy into the grocery store. It was not going well. As I helped him out of the vehicle my 2 year old, Joel, suddenly asks, "Where is Jesus?'
I was immediately checked in my spirit about the bout I was finishing and then replied, "He's right here with us."

We might be asking the same question... "where is Jesus?" as we got news that my wife has an additional heart condition called Ventricular Tachycardia. It's a completely different part of the heart and explained why Amy was feeling pretty lousy in the past year with episodes of pressure coming up into her neck and feeling like she would black out. The condition can be fatal, but the doctor felt that as long as her heart was strong it would break out of the bad rhythm. Still it was a shock. In all of this I was reminded that Jesus is still right here. Nothing has essentially changed except that we know we must lean more heavily on Jesus than we have in the past. Faith isn't faith till it's exercised, and we are working those faith muscles right now. We trust that whatever happens that God will have His hand in it to bring good through the bad. He never wastes an opportunity to grow us into the image of Jesus.

Thanks for your prayers!
Lonnie

Added to schedule!

Just a quick update for August.

I will be speaking at the Worship on the Water Sunday at 8:45am as well as speaking at my church at the 10am service!

Also, I will be leading worship at my church (Cornerstone Community Church: see website: cornerstoneoncapen.com) August 17th and 24th! I hear the messages will be "wet" and hopefully 'whet' some appetites!

Thank you all for praying! God is doing things even now that we cannot see...

Oh... And we got pictures taken too!

Go to:

michaelalanphoto.net

You'll see that he has a blog and other information listed. In his blog he placed 4 pictures of us that he took on Tuesday July 22nd. There will be more coming, but for now it's a taste of what we experienced as we had our photo shoot at the Japanese Garden in Buffalo, NY.

ENJOY!
Lonnie

The message: God Love You: As You Are, Where You Are!

God Loves You: As you are, where you are

Rev. Lonnie Thoms

July 20, 2008

Speaking at: Worship on the Water & Cornerstone Community Church

I recently saw a sign on Niagara Falls Boulevard that read: “We finance your future, not your past.”

I found it quite intriguing… In a small way they are suggesting that what you did in the past isn’t being held against you. It’s not about past mistakes, it’s about the present and future.

The unfortunate thing as we get older is that we get more skeptical about whether a person can change. We hear rhetorical statements like: “Can a leopard change its spots?”; “Can a tiger change its stripes?”

Even people who “get religion” are looked at suspiciously. They just wait for them to mess up to point a finger at and say, “See, I told you it doesn’t work!”

What they are suggesting is that suddenly the person should have sprouted wings and a halo and begun to live like a saint, perfect in all aspects of their life. That’s a myth, and it isn’t what the bible teaches. The bible teaches that everyone has messed up, ( Romans 3:23 for all have sinned…) but that through Jesus Christ, God made a way for us to be forgiven and start again (Acts 2:38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ) . It tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

There is a definite work that is begun in the heart of the person. The bible tells us in Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” It’s going to take time.

I’m not an expert on restoring classic cars by any stretch of my imagination, but I know that it takes time and care to make that pile of metal into something you can take to the car show. One man sees a pile of junk and another sees a classic waiting to become what it was meant to be. There in lies the difference.

Someone here needs to know that God loves you as you are, where you are. He thinks you are valuable enough that He’s going to put time and energy into you. He wants to adopt you into His family (Ephesians 1:5 he decided beforehand (predestined) that we should be adopted as his children…).

Speaking of adoption, I read a touching story on Sunday July 13^th from MSNBC about Emma Grace.

AP story: EMMA’S GRACE:

You see, Emma was given up not once, but twice — once by her 23-year-old birth mother, a drug user who knew she could never care for the baby, and then by a 48-year-old adoptive mother who backed out when she learned of Emma's heart condition. When Daniel & Elizabeth Monroe heard about this little girl they knew that God had answered their prayers. Unphased by the heart condition they considered her worth taking home and keeping and loving. It’s truly a wonderful story. (Picture by: Wilfredo Lee / AP)

It illustrates a great truth about how God sees you and I. It doesn’t matter the condition of our heart or the cost to care for us, to adopt us into His family, God was willing to take care of everything. And in Jesus Christ he did. The bible says in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Verse 17 continues “God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” God sent Jesus to redeem us, to buy us back. And anyone who believes in Jesus, not just about Jesus, but place their faith in Jesus, would have everlasting life.

The world believes in reinventing ourselves. The God of the Bible believes in reconstruction from the inside out. It’s not about outward tattoos, piercing, or hair products, it’s about the God of the universe living in us and changing us moment by moment, day by day, with His Holy Spirit. You can see the damage that unholy spirits cause, imagine the power of the Holy Spirit living and working in you and I!

Someone here just can’t. Can’t wrap their head and heart around the idea.

That’s because you’ve never met people like my friend Darrell, who was in bondage to drugs and alcohol when God got a hold of Him and changed his life. Darrell is a pastor today in Wisconsin because God can change the life of anyone.

You don’t know Hanson. A former card carrying Atheist. Yes, I said former. You see as much as she didn’t want to intellectually believe that Jesus Christ was real, she came into contact with people who have been changed by God, and ultimately she couldn’t run from God. I remember the day she burst into my office. She said, “Pastor, I have to talk with you NOW!” “I was minding my own business headed to class when all of a sudden I hear this, ‘Hanson do you believe in me?’. And before I could say, ‘no’ I said, “Yes, Jesus I believe in you.” “I couldn’t deny that Jesus was God at that moment!” Needless to say, she was pretty animated and the profanity was flying and I was telling myself, “WOW God got a hold of Hanson!” She was in a bit of a quandary because she was on her way to have lunch with three of the top women atheists in Iowa City, IA. She asked, “Do I go?” And I said, “YEA! You go and tell them what just happened.” So she did and came back to me telling me how venomous their attack was when she explained that she had come to believe in Jesus Christ. She’s got an amazing story.

God loves you, as you are, where you are.

It’s hard to believe that sometimes when you come into contact with people who call themselves Christians and yet stand in judgment on you. Giving you the look. Acting all self-righteous and all. I apologize for them and ask that you look in the bible at how God sees you and how Jesus interacted with others. Two quick real stories from the bible… they happen to involve two women. (I actually summarized the two passages and encouraged everyone to actually read it to see if I was telling the truth!)

John 4 (New International Version)

1 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

11 "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?"

13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."

16 He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."

17 "I have no husband," she replied.

Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."

19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."

21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

25The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."

26Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he."

27Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, "What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with her?"

28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat something."

32 But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."

33 Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?"

34 "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor."

39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did." 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.

42 They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."

John 8 (New International Version)

1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

11"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

CLOSING for Worship on the Water:

You see God loves you, as you are, where you are. But because He loves you He doesn’t want to leave you in the sin and the mess but wants to clean you up inside out.

Someone is saying to themselves… “That’s nice, but I’ll come to God when I get my act together.” You don’t get cleaned up to take a bath do you?! That’s crazy! But that’s what we you suggest… I can pull myself together. Truth be told we can’t keep it together that long. Maybe 3 months before we get sucked back in. God knows we can’t do it. He gave the 10 commandments to show us that apart from Him we can’t live all that out either. Summed up (Luke 10:27) Jesus said those commandments meant to love God and others. And you know that it’s pretty difficult to forgive another person when they wrong you. That’s why we need God. Because His power working in us makes us what we aught to be, and deep down, what we really long to be.

Today is your day if you have never placed your faith in Jesus. You can make up all the excuses but the truth is your beef isn’t with me, it’s with God. He’s got the final say according to the Bible. This isn’t a condemnation, it’s an encouragement. God does love you, as you are, where you are. Today will you love Him back, as you are, where you are?

I’m not a high powered pressure salesman, so if you need some time I’ll understand. I have a business card that you can take to contact me later, or if you attend a church that really does believe that Jesus is who He claimed to be, your pastor can have that conversation with you. I just encourage you to do it soon.

Thanks for listening. I pray that you never recover from today.

(Church Closing)

Our encouragement as a Church is to show the kindness and love of Christ to others. You’ve probably heard the saying, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

Remember the kids? I tried this once before… wrap your arms around yourself. Now try to hug someone. It doesn’t work does it?! That’s because we have to open ourselves up. You have to embrace the other person. I’m not suggesting that we take on the other persons habits and hang ups… I’m saying that we have to walk with them a while to gain their trust, and to keep it, we have to continually come back to the biblical model of relationship which involves loving others unconditionally… no strings attached. There are people that rub us the wrong way, but even the bible tells us in 1 Peter 4:8 “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

May the Lord make us a community of unity.

I was watching the movie 10,000 BC and toward the end a conversation started about the kind of people there are out there. Some have a circle only big enough for themselves. Others enlarge their circle to include a few more. Still others enlarge their circle so much that they can encompass more people.

What kind of church are we? What kind of church do we want to be? Who we impact will determine the size of circle that we are willing to create together. As a point of reference, God’s circle included everyone. God loves them as they are, where they are. Will we?

God's Pottery

I really enjoy watching comedy. Cleaner the better. And when I turned on Last Comic Standing I saw two guys that made me at first wonder, "Are they for real or are they just mocking Christians?"
All I know is that they are funny and have a great thing going with the L & L... Laugh and Learn.
Check out their website at:
God's Pottery

I think you'll be walking around with a song stuck in your head too! "Who loves Jesus more than anyone else?! You say, "I love Jesus more than anyone else." You say, "Who loves Jesus more than anyone else?!" I say, "I love Jesus more than anyone else." Team Jesus... Get on it!

Applause for a Sermon?!?!

Sunday was an amazing day. I got to speak at the Worship on the Water event and then go to my church and speak again. The message was entitled: God Loves You: As You Are, Where You Are!
And because of the differing crowds I had alternate endings and a bit different slant that I used. As I finished the message at the Worship On The Water they applauded! I was concerned that they were GLAD I had finished! But the comments from people afterwards were warm and very encouraging. I heard some say they were looking forward to hearing me speak again on August 10th! I don't do this for the money (because there is none!) or applause but to communicate the truth of God to people who need to hear it!

We finished, we, as in I and my boys, and headed off to services. After the music and announcements I had the children's moment. God had given me a thought to consider while in Iowa about how receptive we are to others in the form of a hug. I got plenty of hugs from my boys as they pledged to help me, and then I asked my son Caleb to wrap his arms around himself and I did the same. Then I said, "OK, hug me!" Of course we really couldn't! It seemed silly and absurd, but the truth is that to embrace others we have to have our arm open.

Moving into the message my emphasis wasn't to convert the converted, but to convince the converted that our church will only get as large as we are willing to allow it. In other words, friendliness has to look and feel friendly, not fake or forced. People need to have a genuine feeling that they belong here too. God loves them as they are, where they are and wants to change their lives for the good. So that's basically how I ended the message. As I closed the service I was prompted to talk about myself and my testimony of living a clean cut life, but still needing Christ. After the service I was approached and told that our 98 year old member would be so blessed to hear this message. Then another person said, "That was great!" Another said, "I don't remember such a natural invitation to follow Christ. It flowed so perfectly." All I know is that it was God working through me. I sat down and hammered out 3/4 of the message the Monday night before. It just flowed onto the page. I am humbled that God would use me. I'll post the message with the alternate endings in another blog for those who want to read it. All Glory to God!
Lonnie

Wedding Thoughts...

The wedding I officiated recently was at Terrapin Point right next to Niagara Falls, as in, you can hear and see the water flowing over the falls. Being where it is, there are other guests that are actually tourists from across the country and world. What made the ceremony interesting was the end. You have 50 invited guests along with about 100 uninvited tourist guests that have been shooting footage of this wondrous occasion, and then the announcement comes, “Please join us at the Top of the Falls Restaurant for the reception to follow.” Uh Oh!

Immediately I think, “Hey, I have to say INVITED guests only!”

And then it hits me... the similarities between Jesus story about the wedding and those invited. In Matthew 22:14 it says, “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” You could say that because we were in a very public place there were extra guests, but only those that received an invitation, those that were chosen to be there could be part of the reception. Interestingly enough we actually had someone follow the Wedding party up to the top only to be told, “you can't be part of this”.

In this day and age so many people have begun to believe that everyone is going to heaven. That God isn't going to exclude anyone. The bible doesn't teach that. And this wedding experience pointed that out to me. Was the wedding open to everyone? Sure it was. Were all those people chosen to be part of the celebration afterward? No. We we trying to be mean and exclusive? No, but there were people we didn't know. Likewise on the day Jesus returns those who have not a personal relationship with Him will not be counted among His own.

How do you get chosen? How do you get to go? The bible says there is only ONE way, and it is through Jesus. Begin by confessing your sin and agreeing (repenting) that God's way is the right and only way to be saved from sin and for heaven. Without repentance there is no relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Just being a good person doesn't cut it. It is my grace through faith that you are saved. God shows mercy to you by not giving you what you deserve... hell and eternal separation from Him. And He shows grace to you by giving you what you could never earn, unmerited favor with Him... a personal relationship, being declared right in His sight.

If you want to know more contact me, I'm more than glad to answer questions and dialog.

God bless! Lonnie

Updated Speaking List!

Here's the newest list of when and where I'll be speaking this Summer!

Cornerstone Community Church - for directions check the website: cornerstoneoncapen.com
July 20th at 10 am
August 3rd at 10 am

Worship on the Water at Longs Homestead in Tonawanda, NY by the Erie Canal
July 20th at 8:45 am (yea I know... I'll be making a quick exit that day!)
August 10th at 8:45 am

I will probably have more dates posted in the near future!

Thanks and God bless!
Lonnie

Speaking Dates So far...

Just to let everyone know, I'll be speaking and doing the music for the "Worship On The Water" services at Longs Homestead by the Canal in Tonawanda, NY on July 20 and August 10th. It starts at 8:45am. Come on out and have a great time!

Lonnie

Didn't forget you...

I can't believe it was May20th on my last post! SORRY!
Well... we've been busy. Finally nailed the whole claim thing down on the prize which helped us to take a very needed vacation! My pictures are on Facebook if you are interested in seeing some.
We had a great time and to be honest I think I could move down there in a heart beat and be just fine. Of course Amy reminded me that we wouldn't have the $$ to live by the ocean... that popped my dream bubble... oh well...

We had a Pre-K graduation and today was Father's Day. I was asked to play just yesterday for Church leading the second service. I'm pretty sure that I won't do that again! I felt so unprepared. None the less, it wasn't bad for what it was. The best part of the day was having my boys sit and sing during the first service. They actually stayed in the seats... this was a drastic improvement from three weeks earlier when I spoke... they were up at the altar with their hot wheels cars... Today we got "cute" as they sat and hugged each other and Joel gave Caleb his big brother kisses. They participated in the Children's moment by helping to sing the "12 Spies Song"... 12 spies went to spy on Canaan 10 were bad and 2 were good... of course their version was a bit different... but the boys were great... Joel kept doing the 'looking' sign through the last time through. After talking about having courage the kids were headed down stairs. I asked Joel if he was ready to go and got the normal yes head nod. Then he turns back and says, "Daddy I need you to go with me." So with his hand in mine we head down to Sunday School where he lets go and races for the rocking horse on the springs... the teacher says they are ready and he walks right in and I walk right up to listen to the message. I keep thinking to myself about how many times I've been told to cherish these moments... the times where Joel turns and says he needs me. Or the few times now that Caleb says, "that's a daddy project!" I'm sure that in the next 16 years I'll have plenty of "Daddy Projects" to help complete. And I'll cherish those times.

our latest news

We've been busy here. Still waiting to get the prize from the contest... all forms have been filed, so now it's a waiting game.

Caleb finally got to ride the bike he got for Christmas from "Santa". Amy took him around the block and said, "he's a natural!" I think I'd be too with training wheels. (see picture)


Joel is healing up after his climbing accident. A cut under his nose and above his top lip for his efforts. He still didn't learn the lesson about climbing... he cried out, "HELP DADDY I'M STUCK!" I found him attempting to get a movie down from my book shelf in the basement. Thankfully that shelf is firmly attached!

Also... If you in the Buffalo area Sunday I'm speaking! for directions and times check out: cornerstoneoncapen.com that's the website for Cornerstone Community church.

We know what we won!!!!

We just found out today!!! Seems that they had my last name spelled wrong as Thorns instead of Thoms (you could see how someone might make that mistake). As well, they missed a 9 in our 999 address. SO... the stuff that was supposedly sent by mail showed up two days later at our door step by Fed Ex. But before the Fed Ex guy came they e-mailed us with what we won.

The suspense must be killing you...

We won the Family Portrait Package which includes:

-A family portrait session with a professional photographer in the town where you reside
-Custom framing
-$5,000.000 spending money
-One (1) $500.00 NickShop.com Gift Card

They explained that it was all random. And it was worth $6,500.00.


We can't begin to say thanks again for all your help. Thanks to your votes there are two boys that are ecstatic with joy! Please know that we could never pay each and everyone back, but we know that God will bless each of you in ways that you may not see coming. Thank you all again!

Lonnie, Amy, Caleb and Joel.
Thanks.

Still waiting...

We received an e-mail on Monday congratulating us for being winners. It told us that another company would be "shortly" contacting us to tell us what prize we have won. It also said that all prizes would be awarded "randomly"... so we have no idea what we'll be getting! Hopefully we'll be contacted tomorrow. Stay tuned for more information as we know it!

Lonnie

The boys video thank you!

here's an extra thank you from the boys!

Thank you and dance!

As you know we ended up 111 votes short, but still, 2nd place is pretty impressive! We were the "pace car" for most of this contest and will know exactly what we've won on Monday after they e-mail us the "official" results. I could say we smelled something 'fowl' going on and wouldn't you know it was that turkey! Thank you for helping us run a great race!

Here's the dancing video from the boys:

Finishing the race!

As you can see at chryslerjimmyadventures.com we have an unbelievable lead! We got out and got our neighbors voting. We got the Rite Aid people voting. We got Pizza Hut on Grand Island voting. We pulled people from College and High School that I graduated with and they are voting!

We know that there is no way we would be in this position without you guys. THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!

Look out for that turkey!

If you've been following our march to win the chryslerjimmyadventures.com contest then you've probably noticed that there is a turkey gaining on us! I'm not talking about the cute little girl, I'm talking about the Thanksgiving Turkey behind her!
They picked up 463 votes yesterday. We picked up 373. I figure that if we average 400 (as we have this past week) and they continue to get at least that many votes they will over take us in 7 days. SO... friends, family, co-workers, friends of our friends, cyber voyeurs... WE NEED YOUR VOTE!
We can't make any hollow promises about how your grass will look greener or how whiter your teeth will be, but we can promise to post plenty of pictures here on this blog and send out sincere THANK YOUS to everyone.
I don't know if it will change the world, but I do know that two little boys will look back at this point in their history and be in awe at how they were supported and cheered on!

Thanks again for voting... Vote for caleb and joel

Glitch fixed contest extended to April 25th!

Hey everyone! They fixed the glitch! Unfortunately all the votes before today (3/21) were not added in. So everyone started at zero for the day. Because of this they extended the contest till 4/25/08. We so appreciate you our friends and family being part of this with us. Right now as of this moment we have 79 votes and are in 2nd place. The first place is at 88. It trails off after us with 57 and 55 votes respectively. The system refreshes the vote total every two hours so this may not be all of the votes yet for the day.

Thanks again for being part of this fun contest!

Lonnie, Amy, Caleb, Joel and (Jimmy Neutron!)

THE LINK IF YOU MISSED IT: Vote Chrysler Jimmy Adventures

Voting Glitches being fixed...

We've gotten word that even though people are voting they are having a problem with the tabulation being correctly displayed. They assured us that all votes are being counted and by morning on March 21st they should have the glitch fixed.

Thank you everyone for your support! Keep those votes coming!!!

Lonnie

VOTE - VOTE - VOTE

Hey friends, family and people who just want to see what we are doing...

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!! We're in the finals of the Chrysler Jimmy Adventures contest. The top 6 vote getters from March 18th to April 22nd get grand prizes!

To vote you need to go to: Vote Chrysler Jimmy Adventures

Once there you have to sign up for an account. Once you have an account you can return each day and vote. Our picture looks like this one. No names are attached to any of the photos, so hopefully our picture will help you find our boys!

Thanks so much for your help!

It did snow!

I ended my last post with "let it snow..." And it did! We had officially 22 inches from Friday about 9am to Sunday morning 7am. And that was with two breaks in the snow!
Since we had the snow we thought it might be nice to get out and do something with it... TODAY

Enjoy the pictures!

If you don't like the weather just wait a day...

Sunday we were sledding. Monday we were grilling with 63 degree weather and mostly sunny skies! Tuesday we watched as the clouds came back and brought sleet and freezing rain, enough for ice skating... As I write it's finally turned to all snow again. They are telling us that there is a "possibility" not "probability" of serious accumulating snows on Friday night into Saturday. So.. mom in Wisconsin, we may get that snow dumped on us yet! But thanks for the offer and the books for the boys. Amy sat down with Caleb tonight and had him sound out words. She said, "His face just lit up when he realized that he was reading!" We register him for school March 18-20th. He won't actually start till the end of August or beginning of September. I can't believe my baby is going to start Kindergarten in the Fall.

Oh well... let it snow...

Sledding Fun!

So we finally got some snow and it was actually warm enough to enjoy it too... note: not 9 degrees and then 38 and melted away...

Any how, we all got to have fun. I got to do most of the pulling up the hill. Caleb asked me, "Why did you push us so hard?" And to be honest we didn't push all that hard it was just steep enough and the boys were just heavy enough together that they picked up some good speed. Lots of fun in a 30 minutes work out.

So in other fun facts this week... Joel decided to take his PJ pants off and slide down the stairs in his diaper. Upon reaching half way I heard a, "Oh... OH!!!!!!!!!" Yea, he had two light red patches on the back of his legs. He said, "I'm wounded!" So we put some Desitin on it and by morning he was good to go.

That's about all for now that I can post. We'll let you know when they post the picture of the boys on the web site for the Chrysler Jimmy Adventures thing on March 18th!!!

Peace to you all!
Lonnie

Good news!

While we were all sitting at home trying to get over some nasty bug that has had us ALL down for over a week now... (ARGH!) watching the movie "The Gameplan" (I laughed, I cried, it moved me...) The doorbell rang and there was a pounding at the back door. Caleb sprung up and flew to the door, opening it. Normally that isn't a good thing, however, it was the FedEx guy. Caleb retrieved the package and handed it to me. It was from, "Meredith Corporation" (I think magazines... Better Homes and Gardens, Renovation Style, etc..) I knew exactly what it was!

We had entered an online contest that Meredith Corporation sponsors. Chrysler Jimmy (Neutron) Adventures. To enter we took a cutout of Jimmy Neutron standing next to a Chrysler Van and had Joel hold the picture out as we took a picture of he and Caleb. The picture had to be about a memorable time and we decided that we'd visit our good friends Tim and Amy Newman at the City of Tonawanda Fire Department Headquarters for a tour and picture adventure. The last picture we took of Caleb and Joel, they were wearing their "Fire Chief" hats and standing by a fire truck... Joel held out the Jimmy picture and Caleb held a fire hose. PERFECT!

We went online and submitted it along with our description of why it was memorable and... now we are one of 20 finalists (at least that's the number they were picking from all the entries). From the final 20 there are 6 grand prize winners. Each of the prizes is worth an estimated $6,500.00. They range from a trip to Orlando, FL to the Nick theme hotel (with spending money, car rental, etc) to a $5,000.00 Best Buy Card and a $1,000 Nick Store card.

OK... so we have signed and had our papers notarized and they are being sent back even now.
The next step of choosing the 6 Grand Prize winners comes March 18th to April 22nd. (unless they change something.) YOUR votes will help determine the winner of the contest! So when we know something more we will post it here.

We are sooooooo excited here about this. God is good!

Lonnie

When you wonder...

Every day it seems I hear about someone with cancer for the first time, or coming out of remission like my friend Jeffery in Indianapolis whose wife has brain cancer (PLEASE PRAYER FOR MELISSA). Other times it is the most unbelievable things that happen to someone. Like my wife's co-worker that had been attacked and beaten in the head left for dead. Amy tells me a few months ago that he was in the hospital and she didn't think he'd make it. Probably be a 'vegetable'. A few months later Amy tells me that he was up and visited their floor at the hospital. But he was acting like a little child. I started to pray for Him that God would restore all that was taken from him, health wise. It was so unjust what had happened to him. There is more to his story, but suffice it to say, he definitely got the wrong end of the stick this past year.
Time passes and I wonder if anything has happened and if God was listening and going to act on his behalf... this past week I picked up a piece of paper with his name and phone number on it. I asked Amy, "Hey, what's this?!" She proceeds to tell me that amazingly enough one day he woke up and had unbelievable pain in his head. The doctors didn't just medicate him for the pain, but let him continue to heal up. Long story short... it's as if he's never missed a beat mentally. He tested out to come back to work as a nurse and it's almost like he's completely back to normal.

New story... some missionary friends were headed back to the mission field after some time off. They made a stop in the Phillippines to adopt another little boy (#2). They had two big issues. 1. to get back to their home having only 3 confirmed seats and needing a 4th. 2. Their work visa's would expire at the end of the month.
They sent an e-mail to ask for prayer. The flight they needed was only weekly and no stand by passengers were able to go in the past few weeks... besides the flights were booked through February. One option which the airlines allowed, was for them to buy a stand by ticket and allow the mom and two boys to have the confirmed seats. The dad would have to wait to see if a seat would open.
Long story short, again, as he waited they called his name and he was allowed to board and sit WITH HIS FAMILY!

I post this because at times in our lives we wonder "God with all this junk going on are you still there? Do you still answer prayer?"
I have two requests that were answered here. My mom told me of another lady who had cancer and the treatments were not working... when she visited the Doctor he was able to tell her that the cancer was gone. She's going for a second opinion. I like the first one! But I'm believing that God will give her the same results.
I'm reminded that God, "never slumbers or sleeps." He's never off duty and even when I see something it's not all that is going on in this world.
If you are going through "it", what every "it" may be, know that God is actively looking to work in the lives of people who will seek Him.
Oh, and if I can help pray and see God's hand moved on your behalf then let me know. I guarantee that God will be glorified, not me. This isn't about me. It's about God who is still working in our world healing people and changing lives.

When you wonder... remember the truth: God is there and He loves you more than you or I can ever imagine.
A friend in Jesus,
Lonnie

Caleb's questions

As a dad I get asked plenty of questions. Yesterday the conversation started when Caleb asked me: "Daddy, do you like girls?" I replied that I did. Then I asked him if he liked girls. He said no. I then asked him, "What about mommy? She's a girl." Caleb says, "Yea, I like mommy, but I'm under control." I still don't know exactly what he means there but it seemed like a funny one.

Tonight I asked Caleb again if he like girls and he said, "not all of them, just a few." And then he named three girls from "school" (day care) that he likes. Speaking of which... on Saturday January 12th we were at a birthday party for Carson, who is in Caleb's class at "school". I asked Caleb about one of the girls. He tells me her name and then says, "Yea, were married, I just don't have a ring on my finger." Thankfully he's 5 years old or I think I would have had a heart attack and fell over dead.

I'll post again when I have another spare moment. Life is really picking up and if you are a person of prayer would you fire a few toward heaven? Thanks!

Visiting Family in Indiana!

We were so pleased to get the chance to drive to Indiana to see my sister and her family as well as "Papa Larry and Grandma Donna". It was the first time my sister was able to meet Joel our 2 year old and our first chance to see their new home (aka, "nice bed and breakfast ya got here" the house was twice our house size...). The boys had a great time and we were all so thankful to be able to be together if even for just a couple days. You'll notice the rare picture of my sister, dad and I. Also you see for the first time in a photo my sister's girls and my boys with Papa Larry and Grandma Donna. We certainly treasure these memories.
Enjoy our pictures!
Lonnie

Caleb's Santa Sighting

Live from our living room Christmas morning Caleb gave us the scoop on his Santa sighting. Enjoy the video!